On the effects of an optimized inlet acoustically flow on a heat storage system's performance: A numerical study

•Investigation of the effects of acoustically flow on PCM characteristics for the first time were investigated.•Uniform inlet flow and the square profile decreases the amount of natural convection in the PCM unit.•With the sine profile, it takes about 50% less time for the PCM unit's average temperature to reach its highest level. Acoustic flows are the rotational flows that are generated near solid surfaces and vibrating components, as well as near boundary walls in a high-intensity sound field. By making the flow oscillate, this type of flow can be a good way to improve HT. Besides, phase change materials provide high cooling in a short time because they absorb the latent heat of their melting during melting. The use of the phase change material and adding some pulsing function of inlet flow have been considered to investigate the battery's performance. To this end, the finite volume method, along with interface mesh and grid adaptation techniques, has been used to achieve more accurate results. The comparisons of the obtained results were made to the existing data, and after ensuring the numerical methodology, four functions were used to investigate the effects of variations in inlet velocity. The results showed that different kinds of pulsation flows have different qualities and ways to improve HT in different situations. For instance, the sine profile helps the average temperature of the PCM unit reach the maximum value in approximately 50 percent less time.